Shippensburg student earns prestigious NOAA scholarship

Samantha
Rimbey knew years ago what she wanted to do for the rest of her life: Work for
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).That dream
is now real as NOAA recently awarded Rimbey the Earnest F. Holling Scholarship.

Beginning
September and continuing through May 2015, she will receive the scholarship as
well as have a chance to do a summer internship with NOAA and the National
Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Dr. Timothy Hawkins, professor of geography-earth science who is
Rimbey’s academic adviser and taught her in his meteorology class, said the
scholarship will enable her to meet and work with world-class scientists and help
her establish valuable contacts.

The sophomore geo-environmental major first heard about the
scholarship when the meteorology class Hawkins was teaching took a field trip
to the National Weather Service headquarters in State College.

“We were there and the guy
talking about the scholarship said a lot of times it’s not for meteorology
majors, but for geo-science majors. I thought, ‘Oh, that’s me.’ I was all
excited.”

According to Hawkins, “The Hollings scholarship is a very prestigious
scholarship, so for Sam to win it, is a really nice accomplishment for her.”

The scholarship provides two years worth of scholarships at $8,000 per
year, a 10-week paid summer research internship at a NOAA facility, and pays
for all her travel and lodging costs associated with the internship and
professional conferences.

“It’ll help me get to my overall goal, which is to work with NOAA.
Everyone is so excited about it. (Hawkins) sent an e-mail out to the whole
department the day I told him about it and the next day I was in class and my
professor said ‘What is this I heard about a scholarship?’ Everyone is so
excited — and they are the ones who helped prepare me to get it.”